fine art photography

I wish I was more thankful for things before I lost my vision.

Driving, reading, colors, remembering faces, seeing the stars, being independent, my job, looking at photographs, watching my nephews grow up, seeing what I will look like older, nature, television, writing something down on a piece of paper, an art gallery, seeing the wonders of the world.

Perhaps I am more thankful now. Perhaps my lack of vision gave me more to be thankful for.

Yes my feet burn on the hot pavement. I still have legs.

The annoying sounds during the meditation. I still have hearing.

I have a migraine today. I am still alive!

Using my white cane down the busy street, I am present and aware.

A Mini-Gallery of Photographs from Wendy Rose Alger, Fine Art Photographer

WENDY ROSE ALGER ~ is a fine art photographer born in 1972 in Chicago, Illinois. Wendy now resides in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. She studied photography at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco where she learned manual SLR and how to use a darkroom. These days Wendy uses a digital camera. With a digital camera she can forego a dark room and check her photographs in the camera. Thanks to her digital camera, adaptive technologies, and a variety of computer applications for photography, she is able to pursue her passion despite the vision limitations that result from retinitis pigmentosa. Her website is Wendy Rose Alger, where you can view a more complete gallery of her photographs.

WENDY ALGER (b. 1972), Chicago, IL, U.S.A.

Fine Art Photography

Photography. It’s like music … It’s like your favorite song, something you can listen to over and over and over again. You try to explain it to some and you can’t. That’s the feeling it gives me. It’s like traveling and you want to tell everyone how great it was … and I have that experience every time I pick up a camera. Wendy Alger.

MY FRIEND: WENDY ALGER

Jamie Dedes (The Poet by Day, a jouney in poem)

Initially, when Wendy started doing photography, it was a hobby. Then a friend suggested she become a photographer. Wendy thought that sounded just right for her. Both her parents knew photography and her dad gave her one of his cameras and some lenses.

At the time, Wendy owned an old ’68 Mustang. She says she’d drive around and listen to music. When something called out to her, she’d stop and take photographs. That’s how she began to learn what subjects appealed to her. “I photographed everything that felt right and compelled me to keep taking photographs.” Slowly, she discovered the photographer within and her own distinctive style. “I enrolled at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and trained there, where I learned manual SLR. I also learned how to use a dark room.”

Given Wendy’s vision challenges, I am always amazed at what she can do. She has visual impairment due to retinitis pigmentosa She tells me that new camera technologies make it easier. “I use a digital camera and I can review my pictures on the camera instead of in a dark room.I have a digital dark room, which consists of a laptop and Photoshop and Photoshop Lightroom. This allows me to transform and print my images at home. I also use visual memory … I remember feeling to get through a photo session.”

Wendy’s long-term goal: “To have my artwork displayed in the same building as Walker Evans in my lifetime – not after – during! My vision problems are not stopping me. I never even think about that. After I was diagnosed and as soon as I got the money I bought my digital camera.”

Here is a small gallery of Wendy’s recent work with a digital camera. The photo at the head of the post and the first one below are self-portraits. Wendy’s photographs are copyright protected. You can see more of her work HERE.